Plane Crashes

It can be stated with certainty that the advent of air travel has made the world a significantly smaller place. Thanks to the airplane, it is now possible to get to almost anywhere on the globe in under a day. In the century that has elapsed since the Wright Brothers first took off in North Carolina, air travel has become an enormous business, generating billions of dollars in revenue each year. Advances in plane design and radar systems have made air travel significantly safer than it was in the early days. And with major airliners, freight and shipping services, helicopters, commuter flights and private planes, the skies have become increasingly crowded.

Despite technological advances, airplanes, airlines and airports still have a complete reliance on human beings. They check your bags, refuel the plane, perform the necessary maintenance to keep it running, and, most importantly, they are the ones who perform the take off and the landing. Since the airline industry is a very human enterprise, they are by nature imperfect, and the sad and inevitable consequence of flight is that planes occasionally crash.

In this new age of terrorism, airlines are also play a critical role in the security of the aircraft and who has access to the plane. Failure to comply with new security guidelines can lead to untold tragedies, as so many of us saw on September 11th, 2001.

Between 1983 and 1996, the National Transportation Safety Board recorded and investigated 31,904 plane wrecks. During that 13 year period, the major airlines (Delta, American, etc.) had 371 plane wrecks, with pilot error being listed as the cause for 38 percent of them. Commuter flights and air taxi services were responsible for 1,735 plane wrecks, with 74 percent of them due to pilot error. Private pilots and general aviators (skydivers, crop dusters, student pilots) accounted for an astounding 29,798 plane wrecks, with 85 percent due to pilot error.

Purchasing a plane ticket does not mean that you forfeit your right to a fair settlement if you or your loved ones are involved in a plane crash. While all pilots and airplane owners are required by law to have insurance, this does not mean that the insurance companies will have your best interests at heart. And although it is impossible to put a dollar amount on the loss or severe injury of a loved one, the amount offered by the insurance company might be significantly less than what you may be entitled to, especially if the plane wreck was caused by pilot error or mechanical failure due to negligence, and especially if the result of the plane wreck was death or a debilitating injury. At the Brain Injury Law Center, we can commit the resources necessary to ensure that the investigation of the plane wreck was thorough, and that you won’t be bullied or tricked into taking less than what you deserve. We will ask tough questions in order to get a full account of the tragedy that took place, and we will assist you in getting through this terrible ordeal.

Please contact us today for a FREE case evaluation with a caring and competent personal injury lawyer who can help you understand your legal rights and options.